For part of 2011 I had a J-1 visa and for the other part I had a H1-B visa. I don't meet SPT and so am filing a 1040NR.

While on the J-1 I received income (stipend) and did not pay taxes on that; while on the H-1B I receive income and did pay tax.

I believe that I need to file an 8843 form to justify excluding the payment received while on the J-1.

However I am just looking at the 1040NR form and the instructions for line 8 say "Do not include on line 8 amounts exempted under a tax treaty.". Does the income I received while on the J-1 fall under the classification of tax treaty?

If it does then a complication is that I have been at the same company while on the J-1 to while on the H1B and therefore have a single W-2 form that covers the total income and total tax received while on the J-1 as on the H2-B. Therefore I don't know how much to exlude from line 8.

Yes, you DO need to submit Form 8843.

The amount of your treaty exemption is dictated by the treaty itself. You debit that amount from your W-2 income, then enter the difference on the "WAGE" line of Form 1040NR or 1040NR-EZ.

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